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The present invention relates generally to the design and manufacturing of parts, and will be specifically disclosed as a method and system for estimating manufacturing costs during the early design stage.
No technology currently exists that successfully connects design engineering with production technology, especially in the area of advanced materials and processes. Design engineers do not have any automated way to evaluate the cost of producing parts or components they design. Normally, a manufacturing engineer has to conduct a cost evaluation as a separate exercise. In the absence of manufacturing data on materials and processes, the engineer normally uses a complexity factor on an older part performing the same or similar function. This technique is arbitrary, lacking a scientific basis for estimating cost. Some computer programs, such as PriceH (a commercially available system from Lockheed-Martin) and Compeat (proprietary to General Electric Aircraft Engines xe2x80x9cGEAExe2x80x9d), exist and are based on comparative/parametric estimating, requiring historical data. However, such approaches are deficient for advanced materials and processes where there is little or no historical data, or where the historical data is drastically different than the desired materials or processes. Moreover, manufacturing data on advanced materials and processes is hard to find, and the limited data available is often misleading if projected to maturity without manufacturing technology assessment. Furthermore, the above programs do not successfully link with the knowledge base of design engineering, making them awkward to use. Since the prior techniques for estimating costs are often deficient, engineers typically ignore the eventual cost of manufacturing, leaving it for the production department to control the cost.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a method and system of estimating manufacturing costs aimed primarily at, but not limited to, the design community. Additional objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows and, in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examining or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
One aspect of the present invention is a computer system. An input display is adapted for selecting one or more designs and one or more design parameters. One or more cost models are based upon process-oriented manufacturing cost estimates for a plurality of designs utilizing advanced materials or processes. The cost models are operative to estimate manufacturing costs. Software is programed to receive selected designs and selected design parameters from the input display and pass the selected designs and design parameters to the cost models. An output display shows the manufacturing costs estimated by the cost model for the selected designs and design parameters.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for estimating the manufacturing costs for a part design. A part design having advanced hardware is received. The manufacturing cost for the part design is estimated using a process-oriented approach. Using this method, the cost impact for a part design can be assessed. The manufacturing cost for part design is estimated. The part design configuration, dimensions, and/or materials are varied to result in a new part design, for which the manufacturing costs are estimated. By repeating this step, one can determine the cost impact by varying the part design.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is the method for modeling the manufacturing costs for a part design. A cost model domain is determined. A database is generated of process oriented manufacturing cost estimates based upon at least material costs, a viable manufacturing sequence having a plurality of operations, and the costs per operation. The database of cost estimates are categorized in accordance with the model domain. One or more cost model algorithms are built based on the database of cost estimates wherein cost is a function of parametric values. One or more parametric values describing the part design is then determined. The parametric values are input to the one or more cost model algorithms. The manufacturing cost for the part design is then estimated based upon the results from the cost model algorithms.